The present invention relates generally to portable platform devices, and more particularly to a portable platform adapted to be secured to an upstanding support, such as a tree or utility pole, to provide a seat, stand, shelf and the like at an elevated position on the support.
In such outdoor sports as hunting, fishing and camping, it is often desirable to have a platform which can be easily attached to a tree or other suitable upstanding support structure, for storing equipment and food in a high, dry, place and/or for providing a level seat or stand elevated from the ground to enable observation from a good vantage point. In order to be as practical as possible, such platform must be lightweight, self-contained and non-encumbering, yet it must be strong and stable when mounted to the support for satisfying the demands of hunters and other sportsmen.
Various types of tree stands are known in the prior art. Some of these, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,823,385 to Barker, include several support members and platform sections disposed so as to balance against each other when mounted on opposing sides of the support. Other devices such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,991,842 to Hardin require nails or spikes for complete installation, thereby damaging the support member and risking injury thereto when the support is a tree.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved portable platform device. Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved portable platform device which is compact and self-contained.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved portable platform device characterized by simple construction, and which can be made from an inexpensive material such as wood.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved portable platform device which is capable of supporting a person sitting, squatting or standing thereon and remaining substantially stable during movements by the person or jolts caused, for example, by firing a rifle or shooting an arrow.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved platform device which is capable of being mounted to an upstanding support by a single fastener.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a new and improved portable platform device which can be mounted to trees or other supports of greatly varying diameters without requiring nails or other piercing fasteners and which can be folded into a convenient back-pack frame.
Objects and advantages of the present invention are, in part, set forth herein and in part, will be appreciated herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, as defined more fully in the appended claims. Accordingly, the invention resides in the novel structures, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.